You know, I realized today that I should be blogging and not posting so much on facebook, because it appears that no one's reading it anyway.  I have so many random thoughts about parenthood, all my health conditions and those of my family, and now I find myself thinking about the most bizarre, minute things that you would swear that I'm drugs. I can talk more freely here and get it out of my system.

Updates on my kiddos:

Kenz - is about to be 11 soon and we're having a horrible time trying to think of a place to have the party. It seems to have all been done, and there's nothing fresh and new out there to try.

Mason is about to be 7 and he's already got his party all planned out. I asked him to please enlighten me, since I will be paying for it. The problem comes with the number of people he wants to invite. We've done such a good job of teaching our children not to leave anyone out, that it has backfired on us here. I love that he doesn't want anyone to be left out though. He is my softee, just like me (in the words of his father).  He gets his feelings hurt easily, but he also makes friends extremely easily.  His sister is no slouch in that dept. either. She makes friends with everyone and I can't fault her for that.

Myers just turned 4 and is the complete opposite of the other two.  I swear it's like having Napoleon living in our house.  It's gotta be his way, all the time. I know, I know, all children go through this stage, but his seems to be more that that and we really want him to be as sweet and loving as others think he is, but it might be a long, long wait.

 My hubby, Todd, is superman and manages to work a full day and then go straight to coaching our children's teams in soccer, only to get home late and have to do chores around the house. He is the best and there's no one else like him. Due to my MS, Fibro, and Adrenal issues, I'm pretty much the freeloader. I'm like the kid who won't move out of his parents' basement. I feel like I contribute nothing to the household other than a paultry disability check (really half of my retirement income) and stock money that pays for our car and house insurance. I'm really wanting to have more energy and take on all of these projects that my Type A brain thinks of and won't stop thinking about. Todd is the best husband and deserves far better than I can ever give him. I just wish there was some way that I could take the burden off of him and make his life better. I often daydream and speculate ways to help him. I love him more than he'll ever know.

Soccer is a constant in our home. I often joke with the coaches that I'm building a cottage out there with some modern conveniences since we spend so much time at the field. The kids are learning a great deal and we've all made some wonderful friends in the process. While Todd coaches, I do the team mom stuff (paperwork, money collection, etc) and I'm also in charge of spiritwear for the association. This and the room mom stuff kept me busy all year. I promised MacKenzie's 5th grade teacher, a brand new teacher, that I would help out with class parties and needed daily supplies.

Well, now it's summertime, but it's still soccertime, so there'll be no rest for the weary. With these temperatures being so high, I worry about them. I've finally realized that it was better for my health not to go to the ballpark every day. I only go when it's necessary now and it has helped with the fibro, as I was in severe pain from lifting and carrying equipment long distances. The kids have already done soccer camp and now they're working on a  3v3 tournament on July 14th. The 3v3 stuff is so different from regular soccer. It's faster, less players, no goalie, and different rules. Hopefully, this will help them with their ball skills an d ball control.

Well, I've caught up for now, so I guess I better go. I didn't mention my mother because that's what I'm gonna be doing on my other blog. In the immortal words of Tigger, TTFN - Ta ta for now!

Confessions from a Mini-van

Confessions from a mini-van:

As I chauffeur my kids back and forth from school to home to soccer, I hear such interesting things and sometimes participate in their little conversations. Kenzie always get in the van with a million things to say about her day. Mason gets in and usually falls asleep before we’re out of the school parking lot. If you ask him how his day went, you’ll always get, “Okay (with a shoulder shrug) I guess.” I’ve started asking him less and less because if I ask what he did today, he’ll say, “(loud sigh) Same thing we do every day.” Thank you, Eeyore.

Wednesday’s conversations took on a liveliness that kept Mason awake this time. Kenzie, is about to graduate from 5^th grade, so along with graduation comes the 5^th grade Dance. We did not have when I was in 5^th grade, but it amazes how serious the kids take it. One particular girl in Kenzie’s class has taken it upon herself to play matchmaker for everyone, so that they’ll all have a “date” for the dance. I find this amusing, as most of them still think the opposite sex has cooties. When the little matchmaker got around to Kenzie, she promptly told the matchmaker that her Daddy said she was not allowed to have a date for the dance. She’s right,Todd has made it very clear that Kenzie could go to this dance, but that she was not going with any boy. God bless the poor boys she is brave enough to bring home in the future.

Some of the little girls in Kenzie’s class were approached by little boys and asked to go to the dance. One situation that she told us about still has me giggling to myself. Her classmates, Jose and Jesus, approached two shy little girls who didn’t know what to do and didn’t want to hurt the boys’ feelings, so they just stood there silently and awkwardly. It was at this point in the story that Mason pops up from the back seat and shouts, “No way, Jose!” I thought I would wet myself. Mason’s got such comedic timing.

Then, Kenzie proceeds to tell us the difficulties she originally had in pronouncing Jose and Jesus’s names and we’re all in the floor laughing, or would be, if we weren’t in the van.

At this point, we were driving past the Middle School and headed toward the High School, when I see a teenage boy walking down the sidewalk in shorts and no shirt. At that same time, Kenzie screams, “Oh wow!” and I giggle to myself and think that it’s already starting.You know, the awkward stage, between being a little kid and gawky preteen. Then, Kenzie finishes her sentence with, “Somebody did a real good job painting the school rock. That looks just like My Little Pony!” Crisis averted for now.

Then, Kenzie begins to wonder aloud about middle school and what activities she’d like to try. She and I discuss football cheerleading as an option. Her father is totally against her going out for cheerleading because he says, “Cheerleaders are B’s and he doesn’t want one in his house.” This frustrates me, but that’s another story for another post. Kenzie proceeds to tell me that when they handed out the flyers for Midget Cheerleading, it confused all of the girls, so their teacher had to explain to them that it wasn’t for Little People, as is the politically correct term. This intrigued her brother and Mason had to hear more. He didn’t understand what she was talking about, so we both tried to make it easier for him by saying that Midget was just a level. I said, “You know, like they have Pee Wee Sports, this is the same thing.” Then, he appeared even more confused, as he repeated what he thought we’d said, “Kiwi Sports? What’s that?” Then, of course, laughter enveloped the van and we decided it would be safer to listen to the radio.

I have a dear friend from childhood, who just had twins, her first children. Jodi, here’s what you’re in for my friend. Enjoy!